Malloy has the Ducks taking Dmitri Kulikov, a 6-foot, 195-pound defenseman who had 12 goals and 50 assists in 57 games with Drummondville of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this past season.

Malloy writes that Kulikov the best Russian player in the June 26 draft, which makes us wonder, then, why he would be available at No.15. It also goes against recent historical tendency for the Ducks, who have not taken a Russian with their first pick since Stanislav Chistov in 2001.

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